ARLINGTON, VA – National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) member Matt Fridley testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change about the importance of a multi-year reauthorization of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. CFATS, which helps prevent terrorist attacks against high-risk chemical facilities, is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Fridley, who testified on behalf of NACD, is CHS Corporate Manager of Safety, Health, and Security for Brenntag North America Inc., a NACD member company in good standing since 1985.

In his testimony, Fridley stated, “The CFATS program has made the chemical industry and our nation much more secure. From the time of the program’s establishment in 2007, the industry has invested significant capital and training resources toward enhanced or augmented security measures at our facilities. While these resources did not necessarily assist in growing business, they were nonetheless important to ensure the security of my company, our employees and the community.”

He continued, “From the beginning, DHS generally took a non-adversarial, consultative and reasonable approach in implementing the CFATS regulations. DHS has made significant improvements to CFATS following the program’s 2014 reauthorization. Changes in the leadership of the CFATS program helped establish a commitment to work with the regulated chemical industry, along with the Chemical Sector Coordinating Council to have a positive impact on chemical security across the United States.”

Fridley concluded, “The CFATS program is the only federal program focused on site security at facilities with certain chemicals, and this must remain the program’s sole purpose. NACD and Brenntag North America support CFATS and look forward to working with the committee on legislation to reauthorize this important security regulation in the coming weeks and months. A multi-year reauthorization of CFATS would provide needed certainty and enhance the security of chemical facilities and our nation.”